Whangārei’s Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery.
Photo: Tania Whyte

Cyclone Gabrielle has almost been the final nail in the coffin for New Zealand’s colourful $33 million Hundertwasser Art Centre.

Until Thursday, the iconic national tourist attraction in Whangārei’s Town Basin faced closure – barely a year after opening to much fanfare – because of Covid-19 wiping international visitors, the recent Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle’s State Highway 1 Brynderwyns closure.

However Whangārei District Council (WDC) on Thursday handed the Art Centre, which is a council-controlled organisation (CCO), an $800,000 lifeline, averting its closure before the end of June.

The money is made up of $500,000 of previously unbudgeted spending and another $300,000 from the Whangārei Art Trust capital reserve.

WDC general manager corporate Alan Adcock said without the money the centre faced insolvency before the end of the financial year.

Whangārei Art Trust trustee and volunteer chair Dr Jill McPherson said she was relieved the money had been made available following what had been a perfect storm of events since the facility opened in February last year.

She said the closure of SH1 over the Brynderwyns had been the last in a sequence of many issues in what was a perfect storm.

Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo said the council was duty-bound to support the facility, which was a major Whangārei attraction and key part of the Town Basin artistic loop.

Whangārei’s Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery.
Photo: File photo / LDR

McPherson said firstly Covid-19 had put paid to the 50,000 international visitors forecast to have been visiting the centre in the last year, with instead only 3000 turning up.

There had however been slightly more domestic tourists than expected with 87,000 until the end of February.

Included in this number were 27,000 Northlanders who also visited the facility during this time.

McPherson said the number of domestic tourists visiting the site had been strong over December and January, but had suddenly plummeted to hardly anything with the Auckland floods and the closure of SH1 over the Brynderwyns.

She said 12,000 visitors (international and domestic) had been forecast to visit the facility in February, but only 3000 turned up.

The council on Thursday also approved an extra $100,000 operating funding annually from the 1 July start of the 2023/2024 financial year.

Councillor Paul Yovich said issues with the trust’s governing of the facility were more the cause of its current position.

The trust has been plagued with resignations in recent months including of its chair and the centre’s chief executive.

McPherson took issue with these comments.

“The trust hasn’t been perfect, but I take issue with claims of mismanagement.” she said.

She said the trust accounts had been given a clean audit at their last audit and there had been money in the bank. That situation had changed over August and September when visitor numbers plummeted meaning major income loss.

She said the trust would be looking at other options going forward including cutting staff numbers, shifting more functions online, a new online shop and setting up a new friends programme with its annual paid fee allowing year-round access.

Whangārei’s Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery.
Photo: Michael Cunningham

Councillor Scott McKenzie said it was unfortunate there had had to be a call on the facility’s guaranteed backup funds so soon after it had opened.

“However, the alternative of not choosing to go ahead with the funding injection was even more undesirable,” McKenzie said.

“As people have mentioned, these have been turbulent times we have been going through in the last few years.”

Councillor Simon Reid said WDC’s financial topup decision was setting the council up to become the provider of handouts into the future. Such a decision was a chocolate covered stone.

Councillor Patrick Holmes said the facility was a positive for Whangārei and Northland and had to succeed.

“We are in a position where we have to support it. The guarantee is okay, it’s the unbudgeted $500,000 I have concerns about,” Holmes said.

Deputy Mayor Phil Halse praised the facility as a positive influence for the growth of the city.

The financial issues for the Hundertwasser Art Centre refer only to this part of the more completely-named Hundertwasser Art Centre and Wairau Māori Art Gallery. The latter is run by a separate trust. Both facilities are housed in the same building at the Town Basin.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.